She started moving in my direction, her eyes glowing like red embers. I grabbed Adan’s hand and whispered, “I know she’s weakened you, brother, but give me everything you have. Linking our magic might give us an edge she didn’t anticipate.”
He clutched my hand, and I squeezed it tight. I began to chant the words to a destruction spell low and just under my breath. It was one I’d learned from my mother, when she first turned to dark magic. I’d learned the words and they came back to me now. They were terrible words, and I couldn’t believe I’d remembered them. But I did. I had a clear memory of her sitting by the window in the cave we called home, gazing out at the open sea and saying them over and over to herself.
May the sea devils take my enemies, and may they never prosper. May Poseidon cause them to have a thirst that is never quenched and a hunger that is never satisfied. May that hunger boil in their bowels. May the flesh rot from their bones and fall away. May their limbs wither and may they fade into nothingness, like sand into the sea. May they be accursed in the sight of the gods and hated by all they meet.
I shouted the words at her now and she actually flinched away from them like they were little arrows hitting her flesh. Maybe they had some power after all.
I took Adan’s hand in mine, andwe tried blasting her backward with all the magic we had left. I felt the power flowing through my body. Adan added what he could, but it barely slowed her attack.
She moved forward, a horrific smile on her face. I forced everything I had—every ounce of my power flowing through my hand, shooting it toward her. This time it significantly slowed her attack. The surprise was written all over her terrible face. I knew in that moment if I had ever doubted it before that there was absolutely nothing left of my mother. This was a monster, hell-bent on destroying everything she couldn’t bend into submission.
My power slowly faded, and she pressed forward again—more confident now. She had to feel that Adan and I were growing weaker by the second.
That’s when Alyx and Keion winked into the space in front of us, between Beathag and us.
I saw the shocked expression on her face and I sagged with relief. Alyx was somehow here, against all odds.
My lover and soulmate…in danger…but coming to try to save me. I wasn’t sure if I were horrified or grateful.
“You won’t sit down for a week after that stunt, lover,” he barked at me. “Keion and I had to blow up a wall in the prison in Atlantis because of your stubbornness. The flooding was pretty epic, and we may have destroyed a part of the city—all your fault, and don’t think I won’t tell the king.” He didn’t give me time to reply. “Now, link all our magic and let’s blow this Hag to oblivion.”
They fell back to stand beside us and joined hands with us. I saw Adan shoot Keion a shy and amazed look as all four of us were all linked together. All our magic. All our power. All our love. With the presence of Keion beside him, I could feel Adan’s power grow.
I was shocked when I saw Beathag study us for a second and then suddenly turn and attempt to make a run for it.
“Too late, bitch!” Alyx yelled. “Your rule has officially come to an end!”
I could see our magic attacking her. Streaks of gold flowed from each of us, smashing into her. She screeched and howled, but there was no escape. The power of four turned out to be far too much for her. She pulled her face up to look at me and I was appalled to see that she had changed her form back to the way she used to look before she had turned to evil. Her perfectly flawless skin shone and her eyes—the same color eyes as I had—stared directly at me beseechingly.
She held out a hand toward me. “Please, Kailar. Don’t hurt me.”
Pain washed over me, and I tried to pull my hand away, but Alyx kept it in a firm grip. “It’s a trick, love. Almost nothing of your mother is left inside her. She’s only trying to get you to let her go.”
I nodded. I knew he was right, but it was still so hard. Then Adan’s mind touched mine and he showed me some of the ways she’d tortured him since he’d been imprisoned. “Alyx is right, Kailar. She’s showing you what she thinks will help her escape. Stay strong.”
Bits of her own flesh began to flake around her, as I steeled my emotions against her. Our magic grew even more powerful.
“Your mother is a bitch,” Keion yelled at Adan, causing my twin to smile and continue to push through the pain he had to be feeling.
“Noted!” Adan called back weakly. “But I’m still angry with you, too!”
Keion answered with a smile, and I saw a tender look pass between them. Alyx yelled at Keion to concentrate, and we all found the strength to redouble our efforts.
We all tasted victory by then. Beathag had indeed ruled her “kingdom” for the last day. Then it happened. The worst possible thing, I supposed. My sister, Beathag’s next in command, heir to her throne and nearly as strong as my mother swam up next to my mother. Would our magic be strong enough? Surely Beathag was too weak to struggle back for a victory now at the eleventh hour?
“Maeve! My daughter—help me!” Beathag cried, her voice filled with horror, as she knew she was dying.
Instead of helping, though, Maeve swam around Beathag. She was careful to stay out of the streams of magic we were blasting her with…biding her time.
In the next instant, Beathag the Sea Hag, exploded. The remains of her corpse dirtied the ocean water all around us and I flinched and swam backward, trying to get away. Keion was able to break the chains around Adan’s waist and open the door to the iron cage, which allowed Adan to swim over next to me. Alyx and Keion had already pulled back abruptly on their magic, so Adan and I followed their lead.
“Save it,” Alyx called back to me. “We may need it to fight your sister. Unfortunately, I hadn’t calculated her into our plans. She wasn’t supposed to be here at the lair.”
My older sister, the girl who used to beg me to let her braid my hair—which I’d always refused, just because I was a brat, grinned from ear to ear. She had the same incisors as my mother, only not quite as large. Then, to my horror, she started gobbling up Beathag’s remains. Her behavior resembled that of a starving dog getting to eat a long overdue meal.
“Thank you, brothers!” She called out as she finished her grisly feast. Her breath, like Beathag’s, reeked of evil. “I’m coming for you both! With my mother’s power, blended now with mine, there’s not a safe place for either of you to hide from me. Enjoy the short time you have left.” Then, she continued feeding…feeding on her own mother.
“Let’s go!” Alyx barked, yanking my body against his. I allowed him to embrace me and my tail wrapped intimately around him. I simply couldn’t stop myself.